Megan Singleton: Bloggeratlarge writer on the anniversary of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade

It's a big weekend for the US, with Thanksgiving and Black Friday bringing Americans together for another year.

The holiday has evolved beyond eating turkey and stuffing and lining up outside the shops - and several traditions have been embraced by people all over the world.

The famous Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade is an annual tradition that's gained popularity outside the US - and Bloggeratlarge's Megan Singleton explained the significance of the parade after its latest anniversary.

Read more about Megan's Thanksgiving highlights - and parade balloon fails - here.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Sunday Session podcast with Francesca Rudgin
from News TALKSB.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
Megan Singleton, Good morning, Good morning. Have you ever seen
the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York?

Speaker 3 (00:20):
Not live, but I did actually get up at five
o'clock on Friday morning to watch it.

Speaker 4 (00:24):
This year the one hundred year. It's the hundredth year.

Speaker 3 (00:28):
It's actually the ninety eighth parade, but it started in
nineteen twenty four because of two World Wars, having canceled
a couple of parades back.

Speaker 4 (00:38):
In the forties. But this is the reason for Black Friday.

Speaker 3 (00:43):
And you wait, tomorrow, we're going to start Cyber Monday sales.

Speaker 4 (00:48):
So this all happens. We've sort of adopted all of this, haven't.

Speaker 3 (00:51):
We from the American Thanksgiving Day, which is always the
fourth Thursday in November. So Macy's sponsored this parade.

Speaker 4 (00:58):
They reckon. They won't reveal it publicly, but they reckon.

Speaker 3 (01:02):
They spend about thirteen million US dollars to run it,
and it starts at Central Park and it goes all
the way down to the huge Macy's department store.

Speaker 4 (01:13):
Now, I was there Christmas this year, just gone.

Speaker 3 (01:16):
And saw all the Macy's windows and everything, of course,
but it's the most spectacular event.

Speaker 4 (01:23):
So there's eight thousand.

Speaker 3 (01:24):
People just involved in the parade. So they are wrangling
these helium balloons, which this year the tallest one was
a new mini mouse. She is eighteen meters high. She
probably has about thirty people holding her down. But that
wasn't the biggest one. The biggest of all time was
Popeye's Wife Olive Oil and Sweetpea at thirty one meters high,

(01:49):
just the balloon in nineteen eighty six. So what you
can do if you hate the crowds. And of course
it was raining in New York on Thanksgiving Day, so
people were still lining the streets under their brollies and everything,
watching floats and marching bands and dancers and Jimmy Fallon
and the whole thing. But you can go the day
before and watch the balloons get filled up, and if

(02:10):
you've seen any of the pictures, they get filled up
under giant nets because obviously as soon as they've got
the helium and then they're ready to go. And sadly
Bluey blew out a poor this year. So I've got
a blog post on balloon fails over the years, some
of them have crashed into lamp posts and fallen to
the ground and over the years. But Bluey got patched

(02:33):
up and she flew down sixth Avenue and all her glory.

Speaker 4 (02:38):
So you'll be very happy to hear that.

Speaker 2 (02:41):
How much helium's used.

Speaker 4 (02:43):
Oh that's a good question. I think.

Speaker 3 (02:45):
I don't know how much helium, but I did work out.
I did find out how much it costs something like
three hundred thousand dollars to fill up a balloon or something.

Speaker 2 (02:53):
Oh my gosh.

Speaker 3 (02:54):
Imagine them scooting off into the sky.

Speaker 4 (02:58):
They used to.

Speaker 3 (02:58):
So the first one was Felix the Cat in twenty
nineteen twenty four. And then they got to the end
and they let Felix the Cat go. It popped in
the air. But that was back in the day where
you just let balloons off and you thought that they
wouldn't pollute the atmosphere or anybody else's backyard. But they
don't do that anymore. They deflate them. That would be

(03:19):
just so fascinating. So I would go the day before
they fill them up outside the Natural History Museum sort
of Central Park. They have to hold them down overnight,
and it's great.

Speaker 2 (03:28):
I'd go Grimant. Thank you so much, Meghan, And as
Meghan said, she's got a post about the Macy's Thanksgiving
Parade if it's something you're thinking about heading to New
York to check out in the next year.

Speaker 1 (03:39):
For more from the Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin, listen
live to news talks they'd be from nine am Sunday,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.